The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

2015 was a very big year for battery storage in the electricity industry. Numerous storage projects were announced, many start-ups expanded their reach, and Tesla unveiled its PowerWall to much pomp and circumstance.

Almost lost in the noise were the statements of some very large and established companies that they were also moving into the storage space. Sharp and Johnson Controls announced their storage ambitions early in the fourth quarter of 2015, and with deep pockets and strong name recognition, each has enormous potential throw-weight in the industry if they make the right moves.

And right at the end of the year in - the middle of the COP 21 meetings in Paris - Schneider Electric introduced its own promising scalable lithium-ion based storage system: EcoBlade.

Like most lithium-ion storage systems for the grid and commercial/industrial customers, the EcoBlade is modular, so that building blocks can be configured to meet specific needs. However, what makes this storage system different is its form factor, size and shape: it is nearly identical to an IT server computer. The design derives from Schneider Electric’s extensive experience serving the IT industry. The EcoBlade system contains ‘blades’ much like those stacked in a server rack. According to Schneider Electric’s press release, each of these blades weighs less than 25 kilograms (approximately 55 pounds) and is similar in shape to a 30” flat screen television.

Image: Schneider Electric - for your home

And while a single blade has the electronics necessary to allow it to serve in standalone mode – in a home, for example - the blades can also be stacked in racks to yield the capacity and energy required for heavy-duty use in datacenters and buildings, or for service to the power grid at substations.

As with any storage system, though, the batteries are simply the repositories for electrons. They don’t know what to do, or when to do it –when to charge and discharge - without a supervisory function overseeing their activity. In Schneider Electric’s case, this intelligence comes in a cloud-based suite of software services called StruxureWare, which integrates multiple information feeds to optimize the EcoBlade’s performance.

That compares very favorably with current estimates for competing technologies. For example, a 10 kWh Tesla Powerwall from Solar City costs $3,500, but if you add in the cost of inverter and labor, with full installation costs you are in the range of $7,100, or $710 per kWh (Solar City also offers its lease or Power Purchase Agreement customers a nine-year contract for $4,000). Schneider Electric’s $500/kWh installed price also compares very favorably with the most recent estimates from Lux Research, at around $800 per kWh. At present, the installed cost of the EcoBlade would be among the lowest in the industry.